Here Are Five Billion People on It
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JERRY MAGUIRE EARTH FROM SPACE The blue marble as seen from space. We hear the calm voice of Jerry Maguire, talking just to us. JERRY'S VOICE Airight so this is the world and there are five billion people on it. When I was a kid there were three. It's hard to keep up. AMERICA FROM SPACE The great continent through mist and swirling skies. (Satellites and other pieces of skycasting equipment float by.) JERRY'S VOICE That's better. That's america. See, America still sets the tone for the world... KID ON BASKETBALL COURT A puberty-ravaged kid dribbles a basketball, stares straight at us. JERRY'S VOICE In Indiana -- Clark Hodd. 13. The best point guard in the country. Puberty hasn't been easy. Discreetly, his hand slips into his pants and scratches. Girl on a high dive she's poised. A faraway look in her eyes. JERRY'S VOICE (continuing) Becky Farling. You'll see her in the next Olympics. She launches her dive into mid-air, into nothingness. ON TEENAGE GIRL BOXER throwing punches toward the camera. 2. JERRY'S VOICE Seattle, Washington. Dallas Malloy. Went to court to be allowed to box professionally. She's 16. ON A YOUNG BASEBALL PLAYER at bat. JERRY'S VOICE Art Stallings, Indio, California. Check out what pure joy looks like. He swats a pitch -- not out of the park, it's much sweeter than that. He drills it over the first baseman's head, just out of reach of his glove. Art runs to first, laughing. Pats the first baseman's butt. Gotcha. ON GOLDEN BOY QUARTERBACK -- FRANK CUSHMAN A line of NFL scouts watch a dazzling pass from a future star. JERRY'S VOICE In Odessa, Texas, the great Frank Cushman. Cush is 20. Quarterback, role model, my client. He'll probably go number one in the draft this year. Cush turns into a closer shot. He's a living magazine cover. A YOUNG CHAMPIONSHIP GOLFER eyeing a long but level putt. JERRY'S VOICE There's genius everywhere, but until they turn pro, it's like popcorn in the pan. Some pop... The kid misses the shot, whips his club at his coach. JERRY'S VOICE (continuing) ... some don't. Hold on the kid, he's all youthful adrenalin, breathing hard. Portrait of an intense young competitor. SMASH CUT TO: 3. INT. NFL OWNERS MEETING/PALM DESERT FOUR SEASONS -- DAY A wall of new NFL merchandise. Television monitors blink with the latest endorsement films. Into frame moves JERRY MAGUIRE, 35. He walks briskly and smoothly, yellow legal tablet in hand, at home in this lobby filled with Athletes and Sports Team Owners. We hear Herb Alpert's epic instrumental, "The Lonely Bull." JERRY'S VOICE Now I'm the guy you don't usually see. I'm the one behind the scenes. I'm the sports agent. INT. NFL OWNER'S MEETING LOBBY -- MINUTES LATER Jerry sits in a red leather chair, across from an agitated General Manager. He cooly works out figures on a yellow legal tablet. JERRY Easy now, we can spread these numbers over five years... JERRY'S VOICE You know those photos where the new player holds up the team jersey and poses with the owner? Flash of photo Anonymous Athlete holds up jersey, standing next to Team Owner. Zoom in on someone's shirt-sleeve on left of frame. JERRY'S VOICE (continuing) That's me on the left. ON ANONYMOUS NEWPORT BEACH BUILDING JERRY'S VOICE Inside that building, that's where I work. Sports Management International. INT. SMI CONFERENCE ROOM -- DAY The SMI agents are a fierce, happy bunch. They sit in a carefully appointed conference room. Sports photos and posters are framed on the walls. The signs of global marketing are omnipresent. Each agent has a silver tray containing soft drinks and a glass pitcher of water. Through the glass window, we see a large office divided up into many cubicles. 4. JERRY'S VOICE Thirty-three out of shape agents guiding the careers of 2,120 of the most finely-tuned athletes alive... Near the end of the table sits Jerry Maguire. The word "millions" appears often and easily in his conversation. Shot moves in. JERRY'S VOICE (continuing) ... in this economy, sometimes emotions run a little high. INT. UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE -- HOUSTON -- DAY An unmarked car pulls into the underground parking facility of the Houston Police Department. A cluster of chattering media members move in on the car. ("Baja!!" "Baja, over here!!") Back doors open, and out steps Jerry Maguire with huge offensive lineman, BOBBY "BAJA" BRUNARD, 22. He is angry, and he is handcuffed. WOMAN REPORTER Was the girl 16 or seventeen? MAN REPORTER Were you aiming at anyone when you fired the shot in the 7/l1? Jerry whips in between Baja and the taunting media, blocking him off and forcing him through the glass doors into the police department. Professional smile in place, Maguire attempts spin. JERRY Listen, there's no proof of anything except that this guy is a sensational athlete. In the background, we hear baja bellowing insults at the press. INT. ATLANTA RED CARPET ROOM -- ANOTHER DAY Jerry now sits next to a towering white 27 year-old basketball player with a bad haircut. He is CALVIN NACK. They are signing a contract in the airport lounge. A little BOY approaches the player with a basketball trading card. LITTLE BOY Are you Calvin Nack? Could you sign my card? 5. Nack bends down with a kindly-looking face. CALVIN NACK I'm sorry little fella. I can't sign that particular brand of card. I can only sign Pro-Jam Blue Dot cards. The Little Boy looks confused. As Calvin Nack turns to grab an orange juice from a barmaid, Jerry smoothly dishes off a business card to the little boy. JERRY'S VOICE Lately, it's gotten worse. INT. HOSPITAL BEDROOM -- NIGHT Hockey Player STEVE REMO, 33, is a big man in a small bed. He is in traction, with concussion. DOCTOR stands nearby, shoots Jerry a look of concern. Family is nearby. DOCTOR Do you know your name? STEVE REMO I uh... wait. Wait, here it comes. I have it. My name is Steve Remo. I play for the Blackhawks. (now on a roll) You are my son. This pretty lady is my wife. And you are... Jerry nods encouragingly, presents his best "familiar" face. STEVE REMO (continuing) My agent! JERRY Yes! STEVE REMO And I gotta play this weekend, Doc. If I play in 65% of the games, I make my bonus. EXT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY -- NIGHT Remo's 14 year-old SON (JESSE) confronts Jerry outside the hospital room. He's a hulking kid, a Pop Warner football player himself. His voice is in the process of changing. 6. SON This is his fourth concussion. Shouldn't somebody get him to stop? As he talks, Jerry's cellular phone rings in his bag. JERRY (glib, easy) Come on -- it'd take a tank to stop your dad. It would take all five Super Trooper VR Warriors, right? The kid stares at Maguire. It feels as if the kid is peering into his soul... and all he sees is trash. SON Fuck you. The kid turns and exits in disgust. He leaves Jerry standing in the hallway. Devastated. Music. EXT. RENTAL CAR SHUTTLE -- DAY Jerry Maguire upset in a rental shuttle. Passing through frame. Music. Phone still ringing. INT. MIAMI HOTEL ROOM -- DAY Jerry sleeps. JERRY'S VOICE Two nights later in Miami at our corporate conference, a breakthrough. Breakdown? Breakthrough. Jerry's eyes open. Breathing strangely. Trembling, he holds onto the nightstand for grounding. He gets up, takes a few gulps of air, walks to mini-bar. Gathers some tiny ice cubes in his hand, smears them across his face. This feeling is new to him. JERRY'S VOICE (continuing) It was the oddest, most unexpected thing. I began writing what they call a Mission Statement for my company. You know -- a Mission Statement -- a suggestion for the future. 7. INT. MIAMI HOTEL ROOM -- NIGHT Jerry types, a pot of coffee and tray of room service nearby. we watch his face, alive now. There is a direct line from the deepest part of him to the words he's typing. His fingers fly. Even his eyes grow moist. JERRY'S VOICE What started out as one page became twenty-five. Suddenly I was my father's son. I was remembering the simple pleasures of this job, how I ended up here out of law school, the way a stadium sounds when one of my players performs well on the field... I was remembering even the words of the late Dicky Fox, the original sports agent, who said: SHOT OF DICKY FOX DICKY FOX The key to this job is personal relationships. As Jerry continues typing, his voice is excited now. JERRY'S VOICE And suddenly it was all pretty clear. The answer was fewer clients. Caring for them, caring for ourselves, and the games too. Starting our lives, really. SHOT OF SENTENCE: We must embrace what is still virginal about our own enthusiasm, we must crack open the tightly clenched fist and give back a little for the common good, we must simply be the best versions of ourselves... that goodness will be unbeatable and the money will appear. He pauses, and wipes his eyes, still considering the sentence. JERRY'S VOICE (continuing) Hey, I'll be the first to admit it. What I was writing was somewhat "touchy feely." He deletes it.